MKs of the Religious Zionist Party visited Damascus Gate on Wednesday afternoon, citing "lack of governance" as the reason for their visit after violent clashes erupted in the area the previous night.
"Kill or be killed," MK Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) said during the visit. "Police who feel threatened and their lives are in danger need to act with a heavy hand – and if needed shoot their guns, he said. "The policeman on the bus should have been given permission to shoot the rioters. The Israel Police needs to be in control – and if it wants to, it can."
The other MKs who visited the area were Bezalel Smotrich, Michal Waldiger, Simcha Rothman, Orit Struck and Ofir Sofer. Sofer, although a member of the Religious Zionist Party for all intents and purposes, is officially a Likud MK due to a deal between Smotrich and Likud head Benjamin Netanyahu prior to the March elections.
Palestinian rioters attacked a bus traveling toward the Western Wall near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening. Police who were stationed nearby following earlier clashes in the area arrested 22 suspects accused of throwing rocks at passing vehicles and disrupting traffic.A bus driver and 16-year-old teen suffered light injuries from the attack. In addition, a video on social media showed an undercover Border Policeman firing a gun in the air during another arrest at Herod's Gate 500 meters away.
